Motion picture projector



Feb. 21, 1967 J. T. NICOSIA 3,305,296

MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR Filed Feb. 5, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 4JOSEPH T NICOSIA LBY Mfg 22W QM his ATTORNEYS Feb. 21, 1967 J. T.NICOSIA 3,305,296

MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR Filed Feb. 5, 1964 4 heet 2 25 3! INVENTOR.

c JOSEPH T. NIGOSIA his ATTORNEYS Feb. 21, 1967 J. T. NICOSIA 3,305,296

MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR Filed Feb. 5, 1964 4 he tsSheet 5 I F5! "m J ,4INVENTOR. M I I JOSEPH 1'. rmcosm his A TTOR/VEYS' SPEAKER EXTERNALINPUT Feb. 21, 1967 Filed Feb. 5, 196 34 J. T. NICOSIA MOTION PICTUREPROJECTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A 45 EIIII! MAGNETIC RECORDER AMPLIFIERDIRECTION OF FILM TRAVEL 3'5- SENSING AND TRIGGERING CIRCUIT F/GI 7MOTOR] AUTOMATICI ON-OFF I AND I g I CARTRIDGE SWITCHING CIRCUIT EXTSWITCH POWER SUPPLY EXTERNAL POWER INVENTOR. JOSEPH T NICOSIA hisATTORNEYS United States Patent 6 3,305,296 MOTION PICTURE PROJECTORJoseph T. Nicosia, 13 Hileen Drive, Kings Park, N.Y. 11754 Filed Feb. 5,1964, Ser. No. 342,656 18 Claims. (Cl. 352129) This invention relates toimprovements in film projection apparatus, and more particularly, to animproved film projection device combining insertable film cartridgeswith stroboscopic film illumination, sound reproduction, and the like.

Some presently available film viewing and motion picture projectiondevices are unable to produce unusual or unique sensory effects andconsequently lack versatility. Some film viewing devices, moreover, haveno provision for rapid film changes, for stereoscopic film projection,for merging composite images, for film shifting or for showing severalreels of film in sequence.

The use of ordinary, continuously burning projection lamps in enclosedviewing device housings presents a further operational hazard. Theconsiderable heat generated by those conventional lamps cannot bedissipated at a relatively cool temperature by the limited aircirculation available within the viewing device housings. Consequently,equilibrium between heat generation and heat dissipation is not reacheduntil the temperature is so high as to substantially shorten projectorbulb life and to occasionally cause portions of the film to burn.

The present invention overcomes these inherent limitations in availableviewing devices. A motion picture projector or film viewer according tothe present invention is characterized by one or more film cartridgesinsertable within the housing to permit rapid film changes. Each of thecartridges has at least one aperture in optical alignment with a filmillumination means. A film drive is selectively connected to a capstanwhich is mounted for rotation outside the cartridge. The capstanfrictionally engages an exposed portion of the film within the cartridgeto drive the film past the aperture and the illumination means. The filmmay be provided in a continuous strip which is unwound or drawn from thecenter of the film reel and wound up on the outside of the same reel.More particularly, film such as 8 millimeter film and the like, capableof accommodating stereo pairs can be provided in a cartridge madeaccording to the present invention for the projection of stereoscopicimages. A film gate, also within the cartridge, directs the film pastthe cartridge aperture in alignment with the film illumination means.

The illumination means is in the form of a stroboscopic projection lampwhich provides bursts of high frequency flashing light in timed relationwith the passage of the film past the cartridge aperture. Each suchburst illuminates the film and projects the film image onto' a screenwithin the housing. While the bursts of flashing light are of highintensity, the low duty cycle of the stroboscopic lamp produces a lowaverage value of heat emission and of operating temperature to therebyeliminate overheating as a cause of film and lamp deterioration.

Storage means, as for example, a magnetic sound track on the film strip,can be provided to record information for later sonic reproduction.Moreover, an electrically conducting deposit can be formed near the endsof the portion of the film strip to be projected to electricallyactivate a probe to the end of stopping or shifting the film drive andillumination means to another cartridge for continuous, uninterruptedprojection.

As a modification of the invention, two or more film cartridges may beinserted within a housing in nested, side-by-side relation. A splinemeans may be interposed 'of the paper in FIG. 3.

between the nested cartridges to selectively shift the film drive andfilm illumination means between the cartridges to project the filmimages in an individual sequence or together to produce special effects.In these instances, a shiftable mirror assemblymay be provided toreflect the image projected from a selected driven film cartridge ontothe screen. Moreover, to produce special photographic effects heretoforenot possible in film viewing devices, a rapidly rotating mirror deviceor the like can be utilized to merge images projected from two or morefilm cartridges into one composite image.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may behad to the following description and to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary embodiment of the film cartridge;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the film cartridge shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in section of a film viewing device in which thecartridge of FIG. 1 is inserted, the view being taken along the line 3-3of FIG. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a side view in partial section, taken along the line 4-4 ofthe film viewing device shown in FIG. 3 and looking in the direction ofthe arrows;

FIG. 5 is a plan view partly in section of a portion of a spline drivefor two film cartridges according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view partly in section of a modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuits incorporated inFIG. 4 embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the embodiment of the film cartridge shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring first to FIG. 4, a housing 10 provides a mounting for a hollowsquare viewing head 10a normally held in place by being slid onto a pairof guide strips 10b outstanding from a plate mounted on an upwardslanting face 10d of the housing. The head 10a is provided with aslidable cover 11 having eyepieces 12 adjustably focusable on a screen13.

A film container, cartridge or capsule 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is releasablyretained within the housing 10 in a manner as follows. The plate lilohas formed in its left hand end a wire rectangular notch 14a underlainby a wider rectangular notch 14b formed in the housing face 10d. Thenotch 14b forms a guideway for a slidable mounting block biasedforwardly in the guideway by a pair of springs 14d. Upstanding fromblock 140 are a pair of bars 15 having forwardly projecting shoulders ordogs 15a at their tops. The cartridge is inserted by detaching head 10a,sliding block 14c to the right by hand, positioning the cartridge withinthe receptacle formed therefor by housing 10 (FIG. 3), and then allowingblock 14c to be driven left by springs 14d until bars 15 engage the sideof the cartridge, and, also, dogs 15a overhang the rim of the cartridgeto lock it in place. The head 10a is then replaced.

As shown, a focusing tube 16 with a focusing lens (not shown) on itsinside is threadedly mounted in a bracket 16:: on block 140 to beadjustably movable towards and away from cartridge 14 by knurling 16b. Atransducer 17, a sensing probe 18 and a photoelectric cell 19 are alsomounted on block 14a in alignment with an aperture 20 formed in thevertical edge of the cartridge 14 adjacent to the focusing tube 16. Thehousing It) also includes a speaker 21, and a lens 22 (FIG. 4) opticallyaligned with and interposed between the screen 13 and a mirror 23forming a part of the focusing means 16, to project film images on thescreen 13. Mirror 23 is at 45 to the plane The container or cartridge14, shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 8, is a flat container for convenienthandling and storage having a width slightly greater than two widths ofthe strip of film contained therein to provide adequate clearance forlateral eccentricity of the continuous film strip. The cartridge 14 hasa reel of film 24 loosely wound on a spool 24a of Lucite or the like.The spool 24a has a core 24b of Teflon (a synthetic resin based ontetrafluoroethylene polymers or the like) pivotally attached to thecartridge 14 by a spindle or a screw 240 so that the reel can rotate inthe transverse plane of the paper as viewed in FIGURE 1. The film strip31 is formed in a continuous strip which unwinds from and is wound backupon the same reel 24 by being drawn out of the plane of rotation of thefilm reel 24 and into alignment with the aperture 20 in the cartridge 14in a manner to be subsequently described.

A well or recess 26 is formed in a horizontal side of the cartridgehousing 14 which can accommodate a prism suitable to reflect light forilluminating and projecting the film images through the aperture 20 or,as shown in FIG. 3, a stro'boscopic lamp 27 can be mounted in thehousing to provide directly the required film illumination.

A film gate 28, and a spring loaded idler roll 30 mounted within thecartridge 14 are arranged within the cartridge 14 adjacent to theaperture 20. The idler roll 30 presses a portion of the film strip 31against a capstan 29 rotatably mounted in the housing 10 to draw thestrip of film 31 from the center or innermost layer of film on the reel24 adjacent to the spool 24a, over one edge of the gate 28, as seen inFIGS. 1 and 3, and between the gate 28 and the aperture in opticalalignment with the stroboscopic light 27, the aperture and the focusingmeans 16. The film strip 31 is driven by the capstan 29 which may bewithout the conventional sprockets or film claws, the capstan beingformed of some resilient material, such as rubber or the like (to reducefilm deterioration and prevent irregular motion of the film strip 31).After being driven, the film strip is wound back on the periphery of thereel 24 in a manner to be subsequently described. As shown, the capstanhas a square hole 29a within which is received the square end of a shaft29b driven by a motor 41 mounted on the underside of the face 10d ofhousing 10 (FIG. 4).

Light emitted by a low intensity incandescent 'bulb 32 is opticallyaligned with the film strip 31 and the photoelectric cell 19 to controlthe flashes of the stroboscopic lamp 27 illuminating the film strip in amanner to be hereinafter described. The light from the source 32 may bebent into alignment by an acrylic rod (not shown) or may be receivedwithin the well or recess 26 which receives the stroboscopic lamp 27.Or, as shown in FIG. 3, the light 32 is received in a recess 33 formedin the cartridge 14.

The loosely wound reel of film 24 is retained for rotation in thetransverse plane by a stiff bar which may be formed as an integral partof the cartridge 14 and fixed in the approximate transverse midplane ofthe cartridge 14 to the opposite longitudinal vertical edges of thecartridge 14. e

The bar 25 has a working edge 25b formed on the side of the bar 25disposed away from the capstan 29. A portion of the film strip 31 isdrawn from the innermost layer of the reel 24 (adjacent to the spool24a) by the capstan 29 in the manner previously described. Thereafter,the film strip passes through a shallow notch 256 formed in the uppersurface of the working edge 25b of the bar 25. The notch 25c provides aguide which permits the capstan 29 and idler roll to draw film strip 31out of the plane of the film reel 24and over the top of the gate'28(FIG. 8) without binding or forming a kink in the portion of the filmstrip 31 being drawn off. The

7 portion of the film strip 31 which has been projected and passedbetween the capstan 29 and roll 30 is fed, in a gentle curve, across thefilm reel 24 and over the upper surface of the bar 25 where it isforced, by the lower surface of the working edge 25]; of the bar 25,back into the plane of the film reel 24 to form the outermost layer offilm on the reel 24. Thus the bar 25 permits the film reel 24 to rotatefreely in the transverse plane while the portions of the film strip 31are drawn from the reel 24 and wound back on the reel 24 eccentricallywithout developing kinks or snarls.

The looseness and resiliency of the film reel 31 automatically adjuststhe difference between the velocity with which the film strip 31 isunwound from the center of the reel 24 and the velocity with which thefilm strip 31 is fed back onto the periphery of the film reel 24 afterprojection. Thus the center of the loosely wound film reel 24 expandsoutwardly during rotation of the reel 24 while the periphery of the filmreel 24 contracts to accommodate the velocity differences. Moreover, asa consequence of this arrangement within the cartridge 14, no filmguides or the like are necessary other than the film gate 28 alreadydescribed.

The outer periphery of the film reel 25 is confined by the verticalwalls of the cartridge 14. Spacers 25a may be used, however, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 3 if it is desired to make the cartridge somewhat largerthan the particular film reel 24 diameter.

To reduce friction between the film reel 24, the cartridge 14 and thenotched bar 25, grooves may be provided on the surface of the cartridge14 and bar 25 contacting the film reel 24, or, as shown in FIGS. 1 and3, strips 25d of a material having an extremely low coefiicient offriction, such as Teflon or the like, may be provided to preventfrictional forces from causing the film strip 31 to kink or bind andthus interrupt the sequential projection of the images on the film strip31.

Thus the film cartridge 14 provides a structure having smallerdimensions than standard film reels without, more over, requiring theusual film guides and the like. Cartridges made according to the presentinvention can be packed, stored and used as compact assemblies having aneccentric film feed for use in film viewing and motion pictureprojection devices.

As shown in FIG. 7, illumination from the light source 32 projectsthrough transparent portions 34 of the film strips 31 (which can beconventional claw apertures) and the aperture 20 formed in the cartridge14 (FIG. 3) to energize the photoelectric cell 19. The energization ofthe photoelectric cell 19 causes a conventional sensing and triggeringcircuit 35 to extinguish the stroboscopic light 27 in measuredrelationship with the passage of film frames 36 between the focusingmeans 16 and the stroboscopic light 27.

The stroboscopic lamp 27 and the focusing tube 16 are positioned withinthe housing 10 next to the capstan 29 as shown in FIG. 3. However, itmay be more convenient to place the sound storage and reproductiontransducer 17 next to the capstan 29 so the portion of the film beingscanned by the transducer 17 will be in maximum tension. The soundstorage and reproduction transducer can be provided with anyconventional film sound storage and reproduction system, as, forexample, a magnetic recorder and amplifier 37 (FIG. 7).

Thus the invention may be practiced with the magnetic recorder andamplifier combination 37 adapted to activate and respond to aconventional, erasable, magnetic sound track (not shown) on the filmstrip 31. The transducer 17 is a conventional record-play-erase headwhich can magnetically record on, erase or reproduce from the soundtrack. When reproducing, the signal from head 17 may be converted intosound by the speaker 21.

In operation, the cartridge 14 is inserted as described into the housing10 so as to be in alignment with the focusing means 16. The capstan 29is rotated by motor 41 to drive the film 31 past the cartridge aperture20 and the stroboscopic lamp 27 to project the film image through thefocusing means 16, mirror 23 and lens 22 onto the screen 13. Theeyepieces 12 are focused on the screen 13 by adjusting the distancebetween the slidable cover 11am the screen 13 to further aid film imageobservation.

An external switch 39 may be manually turned on to provide electricalpower from a conventional power supply 40 to energize the film viewer.The power supply 40 activates the motor 41 to turn the capstan 29 anddrive the film 31 past the cartridge aperture 20. Opaque portions 42 areformed on the film 31 in measured relationship with the passage of thefilm frames 36 past the focusing means 16 to interrupt the luminousactivation of the photoelectric cell 19 by the light source 32 and tocause the sensing and triggering circuit 35 to initiate a burst ofillumination from the stroboscopic lamp 27 to project the film imagethrough the focusing means 16.

Thus the flashing stroboscopic light 27 provides a low temperaturesource of high intensity illumination to project the film image.

As the end of the portion of the film strip 31 to be projected isapproached, an electroconductive deposit 43, formed near the end of aframe sequence to be projected, closes an electrical circuit between twoconductors 44 and 45 on the sensing probe 18. Closing the circuit in thesensing probe 18 provides a signal for a conventional, automatic on-oifswitching circuit 46 to stop the motor 41 and de-energize thefilm-viewing device or to shift the operation of the apparatus to asimilar film cartridge in the manner hereinafter described.

A modification of the invention, providing for special visual effects orfor the uninterrupted projection of several reels of film in sequencefrom a conventional motion picture projector or within a film viewer ofthe type described, uses spline means 47 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

In FIG. 5, a driven pulley 48 has hubs 48a journaled in bearing means(not shown). Pulley 48 is driven by a belt 49 which in turn is driven bya pulley 50 connected by shaft 50a to motor 41.

The pulley has extending axially therethrough a hole 50b of square crosssection. Received within a sliding fit in this hole is one end of a lefthand spline assembly comprised from right to left of a square shaft 51a,a rounded reduced diameter shaft portion or groove 51b and a radiallyenlarged portion 51c having a tapered foursided pyramidal end 51d. Onthe right hand side of the pulley 48 is another spline assemblycomprised of an outer square shaft 52a having one end received with asliding fit in square hole 50b. Coaxial with shaft 52a is a smallerinner shaft 52b having a length 52c of square radial cross sectionreceived with a sliding fit in a square axial hole in outer shaft 52a.Shaft 52b also has from left to right a rounded, reduced diametersection 52d outside shaft 52a, an enlargement 52c, a rounded reduceddiameter section 52) and another enlargement 52g having a taperedfour-sided pyramidal end 52h.

The left and right hand spline assemblies are interconnected by a yoke53 extending around the driven pulley 48 and having bifurcated ends ofwhich one fits around rounded shaft section 51b of the left handassembly and the other fits around rounded shaft section 52d of theright hand assembly. The ends of the square shaft 51a of the left handassembly and of the inner shaft 52b of the right hand assembly areinterconnected by a spring 54.

The pyramidal end 51d of the left hand spline assembly is adapted to bereceived in a matching pyramidal recess 55a of a drive disc 55b mountedin a bearing 550 on one side of a housing wall 55d of which the otherside forms part of the receptacle for a left hand film cartridge 70a.Projecting outwardly from disc 55b and through a hole in wall 55d is asquare drive pin 55c received with a mating fit into the square drivehole 71a of the capstan 72a associated with the cartridge 70a. In thismanner, rotation of the left hand spline assembly is adapted to producerotation of the capstan 72a. In like man- 6 ner, the right hand splineassembly is adapted by way of its tapered end 52h, etc. to drive thecapstan 72b associated with a right hand film cartridge 70b.

Either one of the cartridges 70a and 70b may be driven by shifting theyoke 53 selectively to the left or to the right, the yoke being adaptedto be held in either position by spring loaded ball detents 56 and 57.The spline 47 may also be provided with two prisms (not shown) movablewith the yoke 53. Each of the prisms is in alignment with anillumination means or stroboscopic lam 27 so that the source of filmillumination will be shifted simultaneously with the drive means fromthe projected cartridge to the next cartridge in the film sequence to beprojected. The film image illuminated by the shiftable prism (not shown)moving with the yoke is projected from the driven cartridge in themanner hereinbefore described. The projected film image passes through alens 58 and is reflected from a stationary mirror 59 to a rotatablemirror 60 which has been silvered on both sides and is pivoted to thehousing 10. The image reflected from the rotatable mirror 60 isprojected through the focusing means 16 to the screen 13, or, in thecase of a conventional motion picture projector, through the focusingtube 16 to a motion picture screen (not shown).

A link 61, fixed to the yoke 53, engages a detent on the rotatablemirror 69 to position the rotatable mirror 60 to receive and reflect thefilm image being projected from that one of the cartridges which isbeing driveh.

A lever 63 is provided on the yoke 53 to provide a means for manuallyselecting the cartridge to be driven by the spline assemblies. Automaticshifting of the spline assemblies can be accomplished by a solenoid 64disposed below pulley 48 and linked to the yoke 53 by an armature 65 androds 65a, 65b extending upwards from the ends of the armature to theyoke. The solenoid 64, activated by the circuit (FIG. 7) establishedthrough the sensing probe 18, and the electroconductive deposit 43 onthe film 31, produces a selective engagement between the left handspline assembly and left hand cartridge or between the right hand splineassembly and right hand cartridge.

Moreover, as a further refinement, shown in FIG. 6, a lever 66 can beused to override the force of the spring 54 to allow the film in bothcartridges to be driven simultaneously.

Images from the film illuminated within the cartridges 14 and 14 (FIG.6) are projected through an optical assembly which may comprise a prismassembly or, as shown in FIG. 6, the lenses 58 and 58a and alignedmirrors 59 and 59a which are disposed at a 45 angle to the plane of theprojected images. The mirrors 59 and 59a are mounted for slidingmovement in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the projected image onportions of the housing 10 by slotted bars 10c and 10 which connect thenon-reflecting sides of the mirrors 59 and 59a with the housing 10 bymeans of wing nuts 10g, or the like. The sliding adjustment of themirrors 59 and 59a is provided to afford means for causing the imagesprojected from the cartridges 14 and 14 to appear to merge byeliminating a failure of the two images to naturally appear to merge byreason of the intervening thickness of a mirror 67. Thus the twoprojected images can be reflected into the mirror 67, silvered on bothsides, which is rotated by a motor 67a through a worm 67b and a piniongear 670 keyed to a vertical shaft 67d which supports the mirror 67 forrotation thereon. The link 61 can be fixed to the yoke 53 so that thelink 61 can be disengaged from the detent 62 by pivoting downwardly,thus to permit the motor 67a to drive the mirror (as described) toproject an apparently merged image through the focusing means 16. Thusthe images from the two cartridges are reflected from the rapidlyrotating mirror 67 to produce the optical effect of an apparent mergingto produce a single image.

As is apparent from the foregoing, the present invention provides for afilm viewer, a low temperature film illumination means and novelfeatures enabling rapid film insertion and removal and the production ofspecial sensory effects without the usual tedious threading of the filmthrough sprockets and the like.

While representative embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described for purposes of illustration, various changes andmodifications can be made therein as pointed out above without departingfrom the principles of this invention. Therefore, all such changes andmodifications are included within the intended scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A film viewing device for a film bearing indicia of each framethereon, comprising a housing, a film illumination means including astroboscopic light source provided within the housing, means fordetecting the film frame indicia and triggering the stroboscopic lightsource to project each frame image in sequence, a cartridge having atleast one aperture in optical alignment with the film illuminationmeans, said cartridge being insertable within the housing forcommunication with said film illumination means, a film driveoperatively associated with the viewing device, a film reel rotatablymounted within said cartridge having a continuous film strip, a capstanrotatably mounted outside the cartridge and adjacent to said aperturefor driving cooperation with said continuous film strip and said filmdrive by drawing the film strip portion to be viewed from the innermostlayer of film in said reel and feeding the viewed film portion back onthe outermost layer of film in said reel, said reel being loosely woundto accommodate variations in film velocity between said innermost layerand said outermost layer of film, spline means cooperatively engagingthe capstan with the film drive to run the film strip continuously at asubstantially constant speed in one direction, a film gate within thecartridge adjacent to said cartridge aperture adapted to optically alignthe film with said cartridge aperture and said film illumination means,screen means within said housing in optical alignment with the filmillumination means and said cartridge aperture for receiving the filmimage thereon, and focusing means interposed in optical alignmentbetween the screen means and said cartridge aperture for projecting thefilm image therebetween.

2. A film viewing device according to claim 1 wherein said means fortriggering said stroboscopic film illumination means, includes acontinuous light source in optical alignment with said cartridgeaperture for the passage of light from said light source therethrough,photoelectric means in said housing adjacent to said cartridge apertureand in alignment with said light source for electrical activationthereby, a portion of said film guide optically interposing the filmbetween said light source and said photoelectric means the film indiciabeing constituted by, opaque portions on the interposed film formedthereon in measured relationship with the passage of the film forelectrical deactivation of said photoelectric means, an electricalswitch operatively connected between said photoelectric means and saidfirst illumination means for activating said stroboscopic illuminationmeans in response to said photoelectric cell .activation.

3. A film viewing device, comprising a housing, illumination meanswithin the housing for projecting the film image, two or more containersinsertable within the housing in a nested side-by-side relation each ofsaid containers having at least one aperture, illumination alignmentmeans within each of the containers for optically aligning saidrespective container aperture with the illumination means, a film reelhaving a continuous film strip rotatably mounted within each of saidcontainers, a capstan rotatably mounted outside each of said containersadjacent to said aperture for driving cooperation with said respectivecontinuous film strip by drawing the film strip portion to be viewedfrom the innermost layer of film in said reel and feeding the viewedfilm portion back to the outermostlayer of film in said reel, said reelbeing loosely wound to accommodate variations in the film velocitybetween said innermost layer and said outermost layer of film toselectively run the film in each of the containers continuously in onedirection, a film drive operatively associated with the viewing device,spline means interposed between the nested containers and adapted toselectively connect one of said capstans in driven relation with saidfilm drive, a film gate within each of the containers adjacent to therespective container apertures adapted to optically align the film withsaid container aperture and said illumination alignment means, areflector assembly movable into optical alignment with the containeraperture and the optical means to reflect the projected driven filmimage therefrom, screen means within said housing in optical alignmentwith the reflecting assembly for receiving the film image thereon andfocusing means interposed in optical alignment between the screen meansand the container aperture for projecting the film image therebetween.

4. A film viewing device according to claim 3 inicluding a transversebar spaced substantially in the midplane of each of said containers andin engagement with a flank of said film reel, said bar having a workingedge across which said film strip portion to be viewed is drawn by saidcapstan and said viewed film strip portion is fed onto the outermostlayer of film on said reel.

5. A film viewing device according to claim 4 including a notch formedin the working edge of' said bar on the side of said bar disposed awayfrom the flank of said film and adjacent to the innermost layer of filmfor aligning said film strip portion to be viewed with said film gate.

6. A film viewing device according to claim 3 including drive pins inaligned interposition between each of said capstans and said splinemeans for selective en gagement therewith, a yoke adapted to selectivelyshift said spline means into engagement with one of the drive pins foroperative connection with the respective capstan.

7. A film viewing device according to claim 6 wherein said yokeselectively shifts said illumination alignment means into opticalalignment with the film strip being driven.

8. A film viewing device according to claim 6 including a solenoidadapted to selectively engage the spline means with the respective drivepins.

9. A film viewing device according to claim 6 including a portion of thereflector assembly operatively connected to said yoke for pivotalmovement therewith into optical alignment with said illuminationalignment means and the driven film for reflecting the film imageprojected therefrom.

10. A film viewing device according to claim 9 including lever meansadapted to selectively engage said spline means with all of said drivepins for operative connection with each of said respective capstans.

11. A film viewing device, comprising a housing, illumination meanswithin the housing for projecting film images, at least two containersinsertable within the housing in a nested side-by-side relation, eachhaving at least one aperture, illumination alignment means within eachof the containers for optically aligning said respective containerapertures with the illumination means, a film reel having a continuousfilm strip rotatably mounted with each of said containers, a capstanrotatably mounted outside each of said containers and adjacent to saidaperture for driving cooperation with said continuous film strip bydrawing the film strip portion to be viewed from the innermost layer offilm in said reel and feeding the viewed film portion back to the reelon the outermost layer of film in said reel, said reel being looselywound to accommodate variations in speed between said innermost layerand said outermost layer of film, a film drive operatively associatedwith the viewing device, spline means interposed between the nestedcontainers and adapted to connect said capstans in driven relation withsaid film drive, a film gate within each of the containers adjacent tothe respective container apertures adapted to optically align the filmwith said respective container aperture and said respective illuminationalignment means, an optical assembly optically aligned with saidcontainer apertures and said illumination alignment means for mergingthe projected film images, screen means within said housing in opticalalignment with the optical assembly for receiving the merged film imagethereon, and focusing means interposed in optical alignment between thescreen means and the reflecting assembly for projecting the film imagetherebetween.

12. A film viewing device according to claim 11 wherein said opticalassembly comprises a pair of mirrors in alignment with and inclined tothe plane of image projection from said containers, slotted means foradjusting the alignment of said mirrors in a plane perpendicular to theplane of image projection, and rotatable mirror means interposed inoptical alignment between said pair of mirrors for the apparent mergingof images projected thereon.

13. A film viewing device according to claim 11 including a prismassembly in said optical assembly for merging the film images projectedfrom each of the containers.

14. A film viewing device according to claim 11 wherein said filmillumination means includes a source of continuous illumination, 21photoelectric cell activated by the course of illumination, switch meansoperatively connected to said photoelectric cell, a stroboscopic lampactivated by said switch means, and a plurality of opaque portions onthe film, said opaque portions on the film being spaced in measuredrelationship with the passage of the film before the stroboscopic lampfor interrupting the activation of said photoelectric cell.

15. A film viewing device according to claim 11 wherein said opticalassembly includes a rotatable mirror silvered on both sides in opticalalignment with the projected film images, and means for rotating saidmirror in the plane of film image projection to apparently merge theprojected film images.

16. A film viewing device according to claim 15 including means forcompensating for the thickness of said intervening rotatable mirror.

17 A film viewing device according to claim. 11 wherein said splinemeans includes a plurality of drive pins having shafts, a yokeinterconnecting said plurality of drive pins for the selective shiftingof said pins, detent means for releasably engaging said yoke and saiddrive pins in said shifted position, biasing means interconnecting saiddrive pin shafts, and lever means on at least one of said drive pins forselectively shifting said drive pin independently of said yoke andagainst said biasing means.

18. A film viewing device according to claim 17 further comprising alink operatively engaged with said yoke and rotatable mirror meanshaving a detent thereon adapted to engage said link for relativemovement therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,156,903 10/1915Johnston 19248 2,006,213 6/1935 Halliday 352133 2,123,495 7/1938 Becker352--78 2,137,601 11/1938 Abrams 35278 2,211,218 8/1940 Serrurier 352l29X 2,213,664 9/1940 Berg 352-133 2,434,201 1/1948 Engelken 352-1232,568,734 9/1951 Heyer 352123 2,624,232 1/1953 Kingston 352-83 2,770,93911/1956 Berg et a1. 19248 3,028,790 4/1962 Wade 8824 X 3,039,022 6/1962DArcy.

3,176,310 3/1965 Finnerty 352-29 3,212,837 10/1965 Beyer 35272 JULIA E.COINER, Primary Examiner.

1. A FILM VIEWING DEVICE FOR A FILM BEARING INDICIA OF EACH FRAMETHEREON, COMPRISING A HOUSING, A FILM ILLUMINATION MEANS INCLUDING ASTROBOSCOPIC LIGHT SOURCE PROVIDED WITHIN THE HOUSING, MEANS FORDETECTING THE FILM FRAME INDICIA AND TRIGGERING THE STROBOSCOPIC LIGHTSOURCE TO PROJECT EACH FRAME IMAGE IN SEQUENCE, A CARTRIDGE HAVING ATLEAST ONE APERTURE IN OPTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE FILM ILLUMINATIONMEANS, SAID CARTRIDGE BEING INSERTABLE WITHIN THE HOUSING FORCOMMUNICATION WITH SAID FILM ILLUMINATION MEANS, A FILM DRIVEOPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIEWING DEVICE, A FILM REEL ROTATABLYMOUNTED WITHIN SAID CARTRIDGE HAVING A CONTINUOUS FILM STRIP, A CAPSTANROTATABLY MOUNTED OUTSIDE THE CARTRIDGE AND ADJACENT TO SAID APERTUREFOR DRIVING COOPERATION WITH SAID CONTINUOUS FILM STRIP AND SAID FILMDRIVE BY DRAWING THE FILM STRIP PORTION TO BE VIEWED FROM THE INNERMOSTLAYER OF FILM IN SAID REEL AND FEEDING THE VIEWED FILM PORTION BACK ONTHE OUTERMOST LAYER OF FILM IN SAID REEL, SAID REEL BEING LOOSELY WOUNDTO ACCOMMODATE VARIATIONS IN FILM VELOCITY BETWEEN SAID INNERMOST LAYERAND SAID OUTERMOST LAYER OF FILM, SPLINE MEANS COOPERATIVELY ENGAGINGTHE CAPSTAN WITH THE FILM DRIVE TO RUN THE FILM STRIP CONTINUOUSLY AT ASUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT SPEED IN ONE DIRECTION, A FILM GATE WITHIN THECARTRIDGE ADJACENT TO SAID CARTRIDGE APERTURE ADAPTED TO OPTICALLY ALIGNTHE FILM WITH SAID CARTRIDGE APERTURE AND SAID FILM ILLUMINATION MEANS,SCREEN MEANS WITHIN SAID HOUSING IN OPTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE FILMILLUMINATION MEANS AND SAID CARTRIDGE APERTURE FOR RECEIVING THE FILMIMAGE THEREON, AND FOCUSING MEANS INTERPOSED IN OPTICAL ALIGNMENTBETWEEN THE SCREEN MEANS AND SAID CARTRIDGE APERTURE FOR PROJECTING THEFILM IMAGE THEREBETWEEN.